Five Ways Eric Might React to Regaining Memories
by shan21
Summary: Eventually, the witches are probably going to restore Eric's memories, right?  Book readers know what happened after that, but the series could go in a totally different direction.  Here are a few possibilities.  Pam's POV, because she is awesome.
1. The Setup

**Title**: Five Ways Eric Might React to Getting His Memories Back

**Author**: shan21non

**Fandom**: True Blood (tv series)

**Pairing**: Eric/Sookie? Sort of? Mostly Eric & Pam's epic friendship

**Rating**: PG-13 (there's a lot of swearing, but I don't think it's necessarily R)

**Disclaimer**: Don't own the books _or_ the show. Double whammy of sad.

**Summary**: Eventually the witches are going to restore Eric's memories, right? Book readers know what happened after that, but the series could go in a totally different direction. Here are a few possibilities. Pam's POV, because she is awesome.

**A/N**: Spoilers just up through I Wish I Was the Moon (4x06). Pure speculation after that, and a little silliness. I start with a general setup that is, again, totally speculative and spoiler free (it's totally not going to happen this way!), and then list out different possibilities ranging from angst to absurdity. Mostly absurdity.

Now, the reaction I actually want to see is a complex and heartfelt struggle on Eric's part to reconcile the man he was with and without memories, hopefully culminating in character growth that maintains his badassness while allowing him to open up to Sookie in a more meaningful way.

But that is a story for a different fic. You won't find that reaction here, but I hope you enjoy these irreverent ones instead.

Last thing, I love everyone on True Blood. Everyone, Sookie and Bill included. But Pam doesn't, and this is her POV, so I will say nasty things about all of them. Please don't be offended!

~0~0~0~

**Five Ways Eric Might React to Getting His Memories Back **

Pam stared at her reflection in the dark-framed mirror of Bill's office. She traced the contours of her face with her fingers, delighting in the feel of her cool, unmarred skin. Fuckin' Marnie had to die, but luckily, there was another witch queen in town.

"Shit. I'm gonna need a minute before I do that again," Lafayette Reynolds panted.

Barely turning her head, Pam recognized his comment with a vague nod. The cook-turned-spirit-medium sat on the floor of Bill's office, surrounded by tacky candles and holding the hand of his ridiculous brujo boyfriend. She supposed she should be thankful that Lafayette had managed to channel a slightly friendlier spirit to reverse that dead Spanish whore's spell, but fuck him. He was the one messing around with witches in the first place.

"Take your time, Pumpkin, because trust me, you don't want to fuck this next one up," she drawled in a way that made her threat impossible to miss.

"I don't want this."

Her shoulders tensed. In a split second she was behind her maker, draping an arm over the high back of his leather armchair and leaning down to his ear.

"Eric, you don't know what you want. This isn't you," she assured him, running her fingertips down his arm.

He grabbed her hand and pushed it away with a growl.

"This _is_ me. I'm the real Eric now," he said firmly.

He released her hand, only to reach across to the other armchair and take Sookie's. The little blonde piece of vampire catnip was giving him goo-goo eyes. Pam's stomach turned when she saw Eric return the look.

"This _isn't_ you, Eric!" she snapped at her maker. "You had a thousand years of life wiped away and it left you an empty shell."

For half a second, Pam was afraid that Eric might attack her. His eyes blazed with intense hatred, and it took Pam so off guard that she failed to hide the slight hitch in her breath. But before her maker could speak, the fairy princess did.

"That's not true!" Sookie insisted. She squeezed Eric's hand comfortingly.

"It _is_," Pam countered, cautiously placing her hand back on Eric's shoulder so that he turned to her again. "You were wandering through the woods, vacant, ready to be filled by the first thing available. Unfortunately for all of us, that something was a perky blonde waitress with an 'aww, shucks' attitude. You imprinted on her like a baby duck. That's all."

"Enough of this!" snapped the most powerful man in the room.

It made Pam's newly restored skin crawl to see Bill standing behind that desk like the cock of the walk. But he'd fucked up the mess with the witches enough that Pam could take comfort in the fact that Nan Flannigan would be paying him a visit soon.

"Lafayette, are you sufficiently rested to reverse the spell Marnie cast on Eric?" he asked politely.

That was another thing. Who'd ever heard of a polite vampire king? It was disgraceful. If Eric was king, he'd never speak to humans as anything other than lesser beings. Except that in his current condition, Eric was more likely to offer Lafayette milk and cookies than repugnance.

The witch in question didn't respond, but his lover did.

"Just another second," Jesus said, affectionately stroking his boyfriend's face. "You can do it, baby. Just relax."

"Yeah, _baby_. Don't choke now," Pam jeered.

"Sookie, I don't want my memories back. I just want to start over with you," Eric said urgently.

Pam could tell just by looking at the human that her heart was breaking. It was almost touching, if you went for that sort of thing. Sookie stood and moved in front of Eric's chair. She knelt at his feet and reached up to his face. He allowed her to pull his lips down to hers for a sweet kiss. Pam saw Bill shift uncomfortably, and she smirked. Well, at least there was _one_ benefit to this ridiculous little tryst.

Their lips separated, but Sookie kept him close, leaning her forehead against his.

"Just because you have the memories doesn't mean you have to go back to being the person who had them," she whispered.

"Like hell it doesn't," Pam snapped.

But Sookie ignored her, speaking softly again.

"You've always had goodness in you. I saw it when you were with Godric. He knew that you had a choice to evolve, and so do I, now. But it's no choice at all if you just get to start at zero, Eric. You have to remember who you were and decide for yourself which person you like better."

Eric pulled back just enough to stare at her in awe. Then he captured her lips in another kiss. This one was desperate and sloppy. His fingers threaded through her golden hair and they both closed their eyes against the pain of the moment.

The kiss seemed to go on for ages. Pam started to pick at her cuticles. Eric didn't have to breathe, but surely Sookie did? Or was this yet another delightful fairy quirk?

After another moment, Pam let out a not-so-subtle sigh, and the pair finally broke apart. Sookie returned to her seat, and Eric stayed where he was, looking scared. Pam couldn't keep the frown off her face. She never wanted to see her maker this sad and frightened again. The man she had devoted herself to for over a hundred years, the man who gave her eternal life, was gone. But soon she would have him back, and everyone else could just fuck off if they preferred this neutered imitation of him.

"He's ready," Jesus announced.

Lafayette's head snapped back. His eyes rolled up to the ceiling until the whites showed, and his body began to rock. The windows were shut, but an impossible breeze filled the air, causing the candles to flicker. The cook inhaled sharply, and then his body went rigid. He jerked upright again, eyes settling on Eric. The vampire stared back, pale and unsure. Lafayette started to speak in a language that Pam didn't recognize. The words were spilling out faster and louder, and Eric was rapt, unable to turn away.

Then, all at once, it stopped.

The candles were back at full flame. The wind was gone. Lafayette blinked to clear his vision. Everyone fell silent, eyes on Eric, waiting.

"Did it work?" Lafayette asked.


	2. Embarrassed

**Possibility One—Embarrassed**

"_Did it work?" Lafayette asked._

In front of Pam, Eric's body stiffened. She could feel a faint sense of anxiety through their blood bond, and then something that was so unfamiliar she couldn't name it.

"Eric?" Sookie attempted.

His eyes found hers hesitantly, but he did not speak. The waitress searched his face for a sign, anything.

"Please, Eric, just tell me. Do you still love me?" she asked desperately.

Pam could not give less of a shit about the state of their budding romance, and decided it was time to get to the point.

"Oh for fuck's sake, Eric, do you still want to write sonnets and curl up with a litter of puppies or something equally disgusting—"

"DON'T," Eric thundered, shocking Pam into silence. But when he continued, it was with pleading eyes. "Never speak of that time again. Please."

And that's when it hit Pam. She knew what that unfamiliar emotion was: embarrassment. Eric Northman, sex and violence on legs, was mortified.

"What do you mean, 'never speak of it'?" Sookie cried out. "You cried in my arms after a bad dream! You squirmed on my couch when I accidentally tickled your feet! You flopped around in a pond pretending to be the God of the Sea! You were _precious_!"

Sookie looked at him like he'd just declared there would be no more Christmas. Her lip trembled, her eyes grew damp, and a tiny wrinkle appeared between her brows.

"It's true. You were so aggressively adorable that Ah couldn't bring mahself to impose the true death on you," Bill went on, and then added, slightly put out. "It was most inconvenient."

"If you intend on reflecting upon that time any further, I will beg for the true death," Eric said in a low voice.

He leaned down and cradled his head in his hands, and his utter misery was obvious, even without a blood bond. Pam placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be okay," she cooed.

"I called him 'my liege,' Pam!" Eric groaned. "I knelt at his feet and begged his forgiveness!"

Pam's felt her long-dormant gag reflex kick in, but managed to steady herself.

"As far as I'm concerned, it never happened, Eric. Let's go back to Fangtasia. You can change out of that ridiculous hillbilly outfit and we'll play with Ginger to get your spirits up," she offered.

He looked up, brightening a bit at the suggestion. Then, with vamp speed, they were gone.


	3. Enraged

**Possibility Two—Enraged**

"_Did it work?" Lafayette asked._

The spirit medium got to his knees, but before he could straighten up completely, there was a blur of motion and he was up against the wall, held there by a single hand around his throat.

"Fuck!" he croaked.

Eric's fingers tighten around the witch's neck. Lafayette struggled to inhale as his feet swung helplessly in the air beneath him.

Pam smiled. Her maker was back.

"Eric! Put him down!" Sookie shouted.

Pam rolled her eyes and sauntered up behind Eric who, for his part, didn't look away from Lafayette's face when he replied.

"Why should I? This piece of filth fucked with my memories."

"That wasn't him, it was Marnie!" the witch's lover cried out.

When Eric didn't budge, Bill stood from behind his desk.

"Eric, release him immediately! As your king, Ah command you!" he bellowed.

Eric's lip curled into a sneer, but he obeyed, releasing Lafayette so suddenly that the man crumpled to the floor in a heap, gasping for breath. He didn't back away, however. He towered over the medium's huddled form.

"Did you enjoy it? Seeing me wander around like a lost little lamb?" he hissed.

Pam stepped forward so that she was beside him and cast her own contempt-filled glare down on the witch. Lafayette didn't even try to stand. He held his hands up in front of him, as if in surrender, and started talking a mile a minute.

"No, it wasn't like that at all! I didn't even know what had happened to you! Shit, I been sweatin' my ass off tryin' to make this right since it happened, terrified of you killin' my ass!"

"Eric, knock it off," Sookie scolded.

But the Viking didn't even acknowledge her.

"I liked you better when you were just a wisecracking drug dealer with a webcam. You were funny then," he went on in that calm, deadly voice of his. "Why did you have to go and ally yourselves with that pathetic coven?"

"I ain't no witch, I swear! I didn't ally myself with nobody!" Lafayette insisted.

"Well, that was a funny way to show it, by joining hands with the rest of those pentagram-wearing hippies when I came to break up the party," he snapped.

"You had your fangs an inch from my cousin's throat!" Lafayette shouted. He seemed to realize a moment that he had raised his voice and shrank back against the wall, but Eric replied in an even tone.

"She tried to stab me in the back. Literally."

Lafayette swallowed hard and tried again in a slightly more conciliatory tone.

"Look, I didn't know that joinin' hands would bring the motherfuckin' cavalry! How was I supposed to know a crazy bitch mournin' her pet fuckin' parakeet could become possessed by a medieval spirit with a chip on her shoulder?"

Pam didn't care for the theatrics. As far as she was concerned, anyone complicit in her maker's torment deserved a world of pain that she was only too happy to deliver. But, unfortunately, that wasn't her call. It was her king's.

"Pam," Eric said.

"Yes, Eric," she replied.

"Let's go."

He made for the door, apparently coming to the same conclusion she had only a second earlier, but a frantic voice stopped them.

"Wait! Eric, what about…"

Sookie Stackhouse's voice trailed off, and Eric turned to watch her fidget anxiously with the hem of her dress.

"Us? Is that what you were going to say?" he prompted.

She swallowed and nodded.

"Well, yes. I mean we—"

"Fucked under the full moon?" he completed for her.

Her eyes went wide, and she shot a nervous glance at Bill.

"Oh, he knows. He would have felt it through your bond," Eric noted. Then he turned to his king. "How did it feel for you, I wonder, when she came under me?"

Bill slammed his fist down on his desk with such force that the floor shook. His fangs popped out, and he snarled ferociously.

"You will do well to remember that Ah am your king," he growled.

Pam bit back a laugh. Eric didn't give any reaction at all. His focus was back on Sookie.

"I will be only too happy to continue our passionate lovemaking," he informed her. "After all, I've already moved in."

Sookie gaped at him for several seconds before she mustered the ability to respond.

"Nuh-uh. You aren't stayin' with me anymore. That was a temporary thing while you were in danger. And Pam still has to pay me for that," she sassed him.

Pam narrowed her eyes at the annoying human, but before she could say something scathing, Eric was speaking.

"One would think that the $50,000 I invested in cleaning up what the maenad did to what was formerly your home would be payment enough," he said pointedly.

Sookie seemed momentarily chastened by this fact, and her expression softened some.

"What about all of the things you told me about not wanting to be evil anymore? You should be horrified now that you remember all the things you've done."

"There is one thing I'm horrified about," Eric admitted.

Sookie got that hopeful puppy-dog posture on. Pam half expected to see a wail wagging under her dress.

"The whole 'My liege' thing," he muttered, shooting a dark glance at Bill.

Pam reeled back in disgust.

"You called him 'My liege'? Not sarcastically?" she asked.

Eric shuddered.

"I knelt before him. It was… extremely regrettable."

"I hate you," Sookie spat with all the vitriol she could summon.

Eric nodded as if this was expected, but did not seem particularly put out.

"I will come to you tomorrow night," he told her. "I have to catch up with business at Fangtasia."

Pam threw a glance over her shoulder and acknowledged each of them in turn by way of saying goodbye.

"Sookie. Lafayette. Whatever your name is. _My liege_."

They were almost out the door when Eric paused and ducked back in.

"Oh, and one more thing, sweetheart." His fangs popped out. He pinned Lafayette with a lethal glower, made all the more terrifying by the fact that he was smiling. "If I ever catch you so much as lighting incense, I will tear off your limbs one-by-one and beat you with them, no matter what my king decrees."

And with that, they left. It was only due to there superior vampire senses that they heard Lafayette mutter a single word in response.

"Shit."


	4. Tormented

**Possibility Three—Tormented**

"_Did it work?" Lafayette asked._

Eric didn't respond with words. Instead, he gasped for breath, something entirely unnecessary for him, and fell to his knees. Pam zoomed to his side at the same time that Sookie did.

"What happened?" Sookie asked, frightened.

But when Eric replied, it was in Swedish.

"_Den smärta! Slut på eländet! Jag ber er_!"

"What? What is it?" Sookie asked Pam.

Her eyes were glued to her maker. She understood his words perfectly. _'The pain! End this misery! Please!'_

"Eric! Talk to me. What pain?" she demanded. "Should we call Dr. Ludwig?"

He did not answer his childe. Whatever pain he was experiencing seemed too much to bear. He curled his arms around his middle and pressed his face against the floor, squeezing his eyes shut against the agony. Two red tears escaped and disappeared into the thick gray rug.

"What is wrong with him?" Bill asked.

Before any of them could figure that out, Eric grasped at the foot of the leather chair he had been sitting in a moment earlier and tore it loose. Without pause, he aimed the splintered end at his heart and pressed.

"NO!" Pam and Sookie screamed simultaneously.

It was Pam who managed to knock the makeshift stake from her maker's hand and force him onto his back. She held him down by his wrists, but he bucked up against her, and her knees trembled against the force of his thighs.

"Help me, goddamnit! I'm not strong enough to hold him on my own!" she shouted at Bill.

Bill hesitated for a second, but in a flash he was beside her, holding down Eric's legs. Eric howled and moaned, tears streaking freely down his cheeks. Bill shouted over the din as best he could.

"Eric! As your king, Ah command you to… not stake yourself," he finished lamely.

Eric stopped struggling. He lay limp and broken on the floor. Pam continued to hold down his wrists, just to be safe. She stared at him, fighting back her own tears. What could possibly cause her maker, the fearless Viking king, to want to stake himself?

Eric spoke, this time in English, but his voice was rough and hollow.

"Or you'll what? Sentence me to the true death? You should have done it when you had the chance."

Bill had no response to that, and Sookie was standing over them, crying just as hard as Eric, mute with despair. The witches were looking on from the corner of the room, useless.

"What did you do to him you mascara-wearing freak!" Pam screamed at Lafayette.

His eyes flew wide open.

"Nothin'!" he blurted out. "I mean, I reversed the spell, but that's it!"

"I remember everything," Eric murmured, and once again all eyes were on him. He continued to speak, staring at the ceiling. "Every throat torn out by these teeth, every neck snapped by these hands."

He twitched his fingertips, and Pam warily released his wrists. She watched her maker sit up, and surreptitiously captured one of his hands in her own, giving it a comforting squeeze. She still had no idea what was wrong with him. If she was able to relive all of her kills in one fell swoop, she'd be positively post-coital right now, crowing about the bloodiest and the best.

"This is like on Buffy," Sookie said, awed.

Pam shot her an impatient _explain yourself, human_ look.

"Oh, I used to love that show," Jesus said unhelpfully.

Pam bit back a growl.

"Get to the point, Creampuff," she snapped.

Sookie glared, but complied.

"Remember when Angelus got his soul back and all of the guilt from hundreds of years of murder came crashing down on him all at once?"

"No," Pam said blankly, but Lafayette was suddenly on his feet, speaking in that animated way of his.

"Shit, hooka, that shit was serious. He spent decades crawlin' around in sewers, hatin' himself and suckin' rat blood to stay alive."

Pam was horrified. No maker of hers was going to feed on _rats_. Or even Tru Blood, for that matter. Eric Northman was a hunter, plain and simple. He would feed on humans, as he always had, and he would enjoy it.

"Fix him!" she demanded, staring Lafayette down.

"I already did," he insisted.

"Well you did it wrong!" she growled.

"I don't know what to tell you, bitch. Get him on some Paxil," he spat.

Pam released Eric's hand and flew to Lafayette's side in the blink of an eye. She twisted his arm up behind his back and pulled until she felt the bones grind. She heard him whimper and a thrill went through her. One more tug and he'd have a compound fracture.

"Pam, stop. You will spill no more human blood."

It wasn't Bill who spoke. It was Eric. The incongruity of that was enough to stop Pam short. She released Lafayette, who scampered off to his boyfriend's side.

"Eric, you don't know what you're sayin'," she said, horrified.

"I know exactly what I'm saying," he replied. His face was made of stone, hard and unyielding.

He couldn't do this to her. Not after all they'd been through. Not after all they'd seen and done.

"You are _not_ going to turn into a self-hating pussy like Bill Compton," she declared. "He's not a vampire! He's a Victorian lady crammed in a corset so tight that all he can manage to do is wring his hands and moan about is how scandalized he is by everyone else's behavior."

There was a pause.

"Ah'm standing right here," Bill sniffed, releasing Eric's legs.

Eric stared at the dark-haired vampire for a second, and then wrinkled his nose in disgust. He looked at Pam with wide eyes.

"Fuck," he concluded.

Pam quirked an eyebrow.

"Exactly," she said.

She offered him her hand, and he took it gratefully. They moved towards the exit, but were soon blocked by a waitress-shaped barricade.

"Don't you see, Eric? This is your chance to change, to be better. It's what Godric would've wanted," Sookie pleaded.

"I am Vampyre, Sookie," he said in a low voice. "My human life is over. I just need to remember what that's like."

Before Sookie could interrupted with more of her New Age bullshit, Pam intervened.

"We'll get through this. You'll see. We'll start off slowly. You'll only feed from the willing," she said.

"He should only _ever_ feed from the willing," Bill snarled.

"See what I mean? Constant case of the vapors," she retorted, giving Bill one last look of contempt.

And then they were off, into the night.


	5. Overjoyed

**Possibility Four—Overjoyed**

"_Did it work?" Lafayette asked._

"Oh," Eric said softy.

"Oh, what?" Sookie asked.

"I remember now," he said, his voice becoming louder and more confident with every syllable.

"Remember what?" Bill prompted.

He looked up, and instead of that simpering smile, Pam was relieved to see a familiar shit-eating grin. And it was directed at her.

"That I am a Viking vampire god, and I bow to no one."

He stood and nodded almost imperceptibly at her, and Pam couldn't help herself. She threw her arms around him in a joyful hug.

"Thank fuckin' god," she muttered into his ridiculous hoodie.

"Oh good. He's back," Bill said sardonically.

But nothing could spoil their mood. He tightened the hug and lifted her a few inches off the ground before letting her go. When he released her, his eyes immediately locked on Lafayette.

"I also remember that if someone crosses me, I rip out his liver with one fang," he said, taking two intimidating steps in the medium's direction.

"Hey, wait! Wait, I fixed you! I didn't do this to you!" he stammered, scrambling backwards. "Sook, tell him!"

"Eric, stop," Sookie ordered, standing between him and Lafayette.

He paused and took in the sight of her. There was no subtlety in the way his eyes traveled the length of her body, lingering shamelessly on the swell of her breasts. She flushed, which only brought her blood closer to the skin. Even Pam couldn't help but lick her lips.

"We had sex," Eric noted, delighted.

"_Eric_!" Sookie gasped, shooting Bill a worried glance.

But Eric continued, unabashed, ignoring Sookie's repeated attempts to hush him.

"We fucked in the middle of the forest—"

"I am a lady, and you will not—"

"—under a full moon, which was perfect, because—"

"—talk about me like this in front of—"

"—when you came, you sounded like a she-wolf."

"—ERIC!" she shouted, slapping his chest.

He captured the hand, holding it against him, and grinned down at her.

"Let's do it again," he beamed.

"In your dreams," she spat, trying unsuccessfully to reclaim her hand.

"I don't mean under the full moon," he amended. "We'd have to wait weeks. Right now. In my house that you live in."

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he finally released her hand.

"Seriously? None of that adorableness is left over?" She turned to Lafayette, hands-on-hips. "You couldn't have altered the spell to leave some residual decency?"

He shrugged.

"Sorry, hooka. This ain't Burger King. We don't make counter-curses your way."

Behind them, Eric was stripping off his borrowed sleeveless hoodie.

"I told you we aren't doin' it!" Sookie hissed, staring daggers at him.

"Ooh, hush up, Buttercup. Let him do his _thang_," Lafayette admonished.

But that was where the striptease ended. Eric threw the garment to the floor and gave Pam a disapproving glower.

"You let me walk around in _that_?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Eric. I had slightly more pressing concerns. Like my flesh falling off," she reminded him.

His stern expression cracked, and he shot her another smile.

"All is forgiven."

And then she was in his arms again, feet inches off the ground, and he spun her in a circle. She was deliriously happy, and she could feel through their bond that he was too. She let out a deep, throaty laugh and nuzzled his shoulder like a baby kitten. She was sure that it was all very disgusting to the outside observer, but they could all go fuck themselves.

"I'm back!" he announced once he'd set her back down.

"Thank god! I was sure that any minute you were going to start singing, and a bunch of darling woodland creatures would scamper out of the forest to roll around at your feet," she said dryly.

He turned to the witch.

"Lafayette, you're lucky I'm in such a good mood. I'm feeling very forgiving tonight and will allow you and your boyfriend to live."

Bill's face screwed up in indignation.

"There is no _allowing_ from you. Ah am your king!" he declared.

"William, you were a very good hostess. The accommodations in your dungeon are really top notch," Eric noted. "Lafayette, you should check them out. You've already seen mine, so you can compare."

Bill looked so positively vexed by this blatant impertinence that for a moment Pam couldn't help picturing him in a dress and Sunday hat, clutching his pearls in dismay. She laughed out loud, and Eric rewarded her with another wicked grin.

"Sookie, I will see you later," he said in a tone that suggested exactly what sort of visit it would be.

She squared her shoulders in righteous outrage, ready for a fight.

"No, you—" He zipped away at vamp speed before she could finish her sentence, and the last word fell flat. "Won't."

She stared in the empty space where he'd stood a second earlier, frowning. Pam took this as her cue to go.

"Well, it's been fun, but I really must dash."

And she did.


	6. Machiavellian

**Possibility Five—Machiavellian**

"_Did it work?" Lafayette asked._

Eric squinted at the man, then up at the ceiling.

"No," he said finally.

Pam sagged against her maker's chair.

"Fuck," she muttered. Then, loudly, to Lafayette "You better fuckin' fix this, Sabrina, or I swear to God—"

"Shit, Zsa Zsa, I got no idea why that didn't work. It should've."

"Yeah? And one day the dumbfuck cops in this swamp you call a town will be examinin' your mangled corpse and thinking to themselves, 'Poor Lafayette. He _should've_ never gotten involved with witches in the first place,'" she spat back.

"Pam, Ah will not tolerate threats against humans," Bill growled.

Pam gave him a slow eye roll, but said nothing. If _King_ Bill wanted to neuter every vampire in his district, that was his prerogative. Pam would just wait for his inevitable downfall to take her revenge.

"It's okay, Eric. Let's go home. Lafayette and Jesus can do some more research and try again tomorrow," Sookie said, offering him a hand up.

Eric took it and as soon as he was standing, he slid his arm around her waist and pulled her tightly to him. She clasped her hands around his back, returning the hug, and Pam saw Eric lean down to nuzzle at the waitress's jugular in a way that seemed distinctly… hungry.

She peered at her maker curiously, but they were apart again and heading for the door before she could make heads or tails of things.

"Ah would be much obliged if you could look into this matter further and return to mah home tomorrow evening," Bill said to Lafayette.

The witch looked to Jesus, then back at Bill, and nodded. Pam clenched her fists. She supposed that ripping the cook's head from his torso would be satisfying in the short term, but it had the downside of robbing Eric of any chance of regaining his memories as well.

Without so much as a goodbye to her king, she was out the door and crossing the graveyard. She was just about kick it into vamp speed and head for Fangtasia when a hand shot out and grasped her arm. Fangs out, she turned and hissed at the aggressor.

"It's me."

Her fangs retracted instantly. Eric stood before her, pale and beautiful in the moonlight, as always. But there was something else. That terrible blank look of confusion and innocence was gone, replaced by something more familiar. Something cunning and dark.

"Eric?" she said hesitantly.

He reached for her and she fell against him like a child to her father. His hand cradled her head tenderly to his chest, and she felt as if all was right with the world once again. Crimson tears threatened at the corners of her lids, but she blinked them back before standing back to address him.

"What happened? Were the spell's effects delayed?" she asked.

Then he did the most beautiful thing. He smirked. It was such a relief to see that familiar cocksure expression on his face.

"I am sorry to have caused you any additional pain, Pam, but my deceit was necessary," he replied. "Lafayette's spell worked, but the instant that my memories returned, I realized that it might be… _advantageous_ to keep the ruse up for one more night."

Pam smiled back at him.

"Of course you did," she said.

"Sookie is waiting for me at her house—_my_ house," he amended. "I told her that I wanted to go back and thank the witch for his attempt."

He chuckled.

"What are you planning?" she asked, delighting in his return to mischief.

"Sookie must be mine. We have had each other's blood, but not enough. Yet. I plan to change that tonight. She will give herself to me completely. Then, once the bond is complete, I will allow myself to be _cured_."

His eyes were hard steel, but his lips still curled up at the edges. She sighed.

"Well, do whatever you have to do with your little blonde distraction. Just do it quickly," she said. "I can't stand to see you in these terrible clothes any longer."

He grinned at her.

"I'll let you burn them when this is done."

**A/N:** Well, I hope you enjoyed this! I know that what actually happens will be none of the above, but I had fun, and I hope you did too :) Please review!


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